Jun 22, 2016 -

Research confirms effectiveness of Chinese diabetes projects

News Hour:

In 2005 and 2007, two WDF projects in Qingdao, China set to work promoting healthy lifestyles and creating awareness of diabetes and its risk factors among local residents.

Yanlei Zhang, a student at the University of Helsinki, Faculty of Medicine, learned about these projects from an adjunct professor, Dr. Qing Qiao, who also was WDF’s partner on the projects.
“There is a paucity of study on the impact of education and screening programmes,” she notes. So, using the wealth of data that the two projects generated, she took a closer look.
Her research explored four questions:
– What was the cost and effectiveness of the population-based education programme?
– What was the cost-effectiveness of two different screening tools for undiagnosed diabetes?
– What was the impact of type 2 diabetes and its complication on individuals’ health-related quality of life?
– What was the impact of a screening programme on individuals’ overall health-related quality of life, depression and lifestyle modification?
Her conclusion: the interventions in the WDF projects in combination with the local government efforts were both effective and cost-effective.
“The QD-DPP education campaign efficiently increased public knowledge and awareness of diabetes,” Ms. Zhang writes. “The questionnaire is a simple, non-invasive and reliable first-line screening tool to identify undiagnosed diabetes at primary care settings. The diabetes screening programme in Qingdao generated positive changes towards a healthy lifestyle and did not result in any harm to the participants.”
The results of Ms. Zhang’s research are explored in four published papers, and in a PhD thesis that is now available online.
“The four papers elegantly describe how a health promotion programme using a simple self-assessed risk score can be used to identify high-risk individuals in the community,” says Anil Kapur, Chairman of the WDF Board. “The same risk score coupled with other multimedia can cost-effectively raise awareness about diabetes. I believe that the research has important lessons for addressing prevention, both in the whole population and among high risk individuals.”
Dr. Qing Qiao notes that the implementation of WDF05-108 and WDF07-308 have created a large platform for more programmes focusing on health education and disease prevention in Quingdao. “A large group of young students have gained experience in conducting field work and skills in doing public health research. This will ensure the sustainability of the project activities,” she says.
However, lifestyle changes at the population level will take a long time, she notes. “Continued education at a population level is important. Collaboration with local health authorities and public health workers can produce synergetic effects.”

Md. Rafiuzzaman Sifat, a CSE graduate turned into journalist, works at News Hour as a staff reporter. He has many years of experience in featured writing in different Bangladeshi newspapers. He is an active blogger, story writer and social network activist. He published a book named 'Se Amar Gopon' inEkushe boi mela Dhaka 2016. Sifat got a BSc. from Ahsanullah University of Science & Technology, Bangladesh. He also works as an Engineer at Bangla Trac Communications Ltd. As an avid traveler and a gourmet food aficionado, he is active in publishing restaurant reviews and cutting-edge articles about culinary culture.
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